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Mortar Vessel I'm building.

Hey..

just thought I'd post a link to some images of a British Ketch rigged mortar vessel 1804. Its been a while since I have done anything with it due to time restraints, but now I have re-started in earnest.

Its my first 'plank on bulkhead' model, and has been very enjoyable to say the least.

Re: Mortar Vessel I'm building.

So, as planned, I've spent some time in the dry dock. Got the main wale, upper rail onto the hull. Also the rowlock's, some detail to the mortar bay itself, and the companionway. Hand pumps are now assembled ready for a little paint. Also did some work on the bowsprit.
Even managed to get a base coat of paint onto the main wale.

Re: Mortar Vessel I'm building.

Re: Mortar Vessel I'm building.

Nice work; I don't think many people realise how difficult they are when they start! I've basically had to learn woodwork from scratch.
This is my third model, a few months ago. It's a model of a generic medium sized pirate ship of the 1710's-1720's; I need to do a little research before I can place it as an exact ship:
On the ratlines at the moment, going to try and complete most of the stadning rigging before i put to yards and spars on.
-Matt

Re: Mortar Vessel I'm building.

I read the subject, and thought you were someone reproducing a real Mortar Ketch. I'm not sure if I'm more or less impressed with such a detailed model.

I honestly find models like this harder to build than the real thing. They're just a little less heavy lifting, but far more annoying work.

Sorry you are dissapointed Maybe I'll add the word 'model' to the thread title..

Just how many and what type of rigged boats/ships have you built then ?

@ Mikoyan... thats a great looking project you have there. Have you any more photo's ? Where did you get the kit from ? didnt the kit say what vessel it was based upon when you bought it ? As its the crew that defines a vessel and any ship used by a pirate makes 'it' a pirate ship.
What others have you built ? I'd like to see those too if you have photo's.

Re: Mortar Vessel I'm building.

The kit was ordered from this company:http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/...c_display.html
It's the peregrine galley kit; I bought it as a base for a pirate ship, as it's about the right size, was built at the right time (1705) and has about the right amount of armament. It's undergone some slight modification; it will mainly be the rig which changes it. It wasn't entirely clear from the pics on the sight about the minor details such as gingerbread work; it was going to be Black Bart's Royal Fortune, but sadly it's too small and is lacking a few distinctive features.
I've done a few others; i'll post them here tonight. I'm off to Portsmouth now, hopefull i'll get the chance to look at HMS Victory.
-Matt

Re: Mortar Vessel I'm building.

I grew up nearby, in Ryde; I remember at the tender age of 5 falling over the plaque that sais "here nelson fell".
Heres my two other models; the second is a Portugese caravel, adapted from the Pinta kit, and the first, my first model, HM Schooner Ballahoo, built in the carribean in 1800. She's now been improved and pianted in Nelsonic Chequer.
-Matt

Re: Mortar Vessel I'm building.

The point of a bomb vessel was to allow a navy to bombard a target ashore, such as a city or a fortress. The mortars on the bomb vessel outranged the long guns of the defenders by a healthy margin, they fired explosive shells which were a lot better at breaking stuff and killing people than regular cannonball were, and they were high-angle weapons which allowed the attacker to simply lob the shells over any defensive walls into the heart of the city or fortress.

The primary downside of the bomb vessel was that the immense recoil of the mortars required a very, very, very sturdy hull construction which made the vessel heavy, slow and expensive. A consequence of the immensely heavy build was that bomb vessels generally had the seakeeping and sailing qualities of a sack of cement. In addition, mortars were not what you would call weapons of surgical accuracy, they could hit a city with relative ease, a fortress with some skill, and forget about hitting anything smaller except by blind luck.